Smile
by Anatidaephobia81
Summary: Sasuke reflects on the one thing in life that has always been a constant to him. And speaks of his hope for the future.


Tammy: Yeah, well, I just could not resist. And I needed a break from the world today…

Standard Disclaimer Applies.

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Among the years that I have lived, I have come to some conclusions. Some, are insignificant, such as the fact that Naruto should never drink milk from his fridge. Others, such as how to kill a man in his sleep and make it look like a heart attack, are quiet important. Theses things I come to learn and understand, all are stored away in the confines of my mind. Coming to thought only when needed, trained to only think of what is important has disciplined me to a degree of which I could know anything, no matter of importance, and keep it so far from my mind it could be as if I had never known it at all.

That, is part of the beauty of being a ninja.

But, there is also another side to this…

I, as an Uchiha and part of the elite ninja of Konoha, must always, always have important details about any situation in mind. On thought, and memorized.

At first, a young gennin that I had once been ten years ago, this was very important to me. At that point in my life, it was imperative that I had known everything, strength comes in all forms, and also at that point in my life, everything was mind over matter. Intelligence over muscle.

That, at that point may I say, was important.

But, now, a twenty two year old male, I doubt that needing to know everything about anything, is helpful.

If you are confused, well, then, lets rewind here…

(Insert Rewinding Noises)

Her.

She.

Green eyes.

Pink Hair.

Annoying.

Sakura.

Her smile. That is it. Her smile.

Way, way back when I was younger, her smile was just that, a smile. It held no importance to me. It was only another one of her tricks to fangirl her way into my life. It was stupid, a waste of facial muscles.

Now, though, a fully grown male with increasingly oppressed hormones rushing though my body. That smile, that damn bright, teeth shinning smile, damn.

She has always smiled brightly at me, teeth showing and it reaching her eyes. When I was younger, I had wanted to smile back at her, show my teeth and crinkle my face to show that her loyalty to me actually meant something. But, she knows that I couldn't. Now, I know that when she smiles at me, I am at no risk to smile back, but, just as usual I don't.

Which, now, as a mature woman of twenty three, she understands why I can't. She is very understanding, nowadays, compared to back then when we were younger. That, is something that makes me happy, I suppose.

Her smiles, though, weren't always so bright towards me. At one point, around three years ago, when I had finally been released from jail, her smiles were…I don't want to say fake, but, what is the word?....oh, yes, now I remember, insincere. Her smiles, they were small, barely any use of the facial muscles.

I define that point in my life, as if I were standing at a doorway, looking past the frame and into its confines. All I had to do was walk through the doorway, past all of the awkwardness and shame. But, I had to be stubborn, and, hypothetically speaking, I stood at that door for a good year, isolating my world and shrinking it to a small dot. Only containing three other people besides myself, I truly was alone.

But, as time passed I walked passed the doorway, into a new life that was filled with team outings and random dates that really weren't considered dates because I had no romantic feelings for Sakura, and she only wanted me to see what it was like to be cared for as a friend. At that point, however, her smile returned.

Bright, happy, spreading through my body like a disease, I felt my body piecing itself back together. Bit by bit, I became Uchiha Sasuke, a man, a ninja. I became what I wanted to be, not what some loyalty to a dead clan wanted me to be. Her smile, at this time in our lives was not as bright as it had once been when she was younger and told me that she was in love with me, it was dulled, a fraction of what it once was. But still, it made me feel at home, as if I was truly not alone. As if I, in a sense, was welcomed.

Months, and a year passed before her true smile was returned to its natural glory. The teeth shining brightly, the happiness radiating off in waves. Of course, this smile was always to me, no one else was ever given the luck of seeing that smile shown to them. All of people in her life, they got the dulled, watered down version of this smile.

I know, I sound cheesy, out of my character, out of my nature, but, only a rare two or three people really know me. And out of them, only Sakura or Naruto perhaps could say that they knew me, and be right.

But, her smiles, they, in a sense brought me back to life. They held a charm that was so enticing that I could not resist the pull and I jumped into the mental pool of life and joined, hypothetically the world of the living.

I remember when she had told me, that long ten years ago, that she had loved me; she had looked me right in the eyes and smiled as brightly as she confessed her deepest secret. That, I held dearly, it was a gift that I would always keep with me, her heart was mine, even if at that point in my life I was not ready to give my own heart to her. To this day, I still hold that confession of hers in my mind, a soft little pillow to rest my head on when I fall short.

It was hard at first, to accept my feelings for what they really were. I hardly spoke to her, even when I was with her, holding her hand, kissing her cheeks. I was, unable to let myself go completely. But, in the future, I expect that things will get better.

If not for my sake, then for hers, and for the sake of our two month old son.

I knew at first she was scared, we weren't married, and even to this day we still aren't. But, that smile of hers shone so beautifully when she held our little child in her arms for the first time. Not even the smile she gave me when I presented her with a ring could compare to the maternal glow that surrounded her being on that day.

Our lives are not perfect, we realize this notion without fear. We could never possibly hope to be perfect, but, just knowing our faults makes us even more so perfect. To each other, we are perfect. To her, I am the father of her first child. The man of her dreams, her safety, her future husband. Her friend.

To me, she is the chance at a real life, a future. A smile.

And all that I can hope for, a mother to my son. A mother to my future children.

The true beauty of all this, the miracle of my life, is not that I have wife, a child, but the fact that I have a chance, everyday to wake up to that smile, and see it shining for my son…

…and for me.

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Hmm, I started this story months ago and left it for dead. I tried to bring it back to life as much as I could. Review if you like, but don't be afraid to criticize. I might turn it into a chaptered story, but, I'm not so sure.


End file.
